Help! My girl is actually a boy!

[Laurat]

Help needed please! So after a pre assessment vet check last week for my bunnies spaying and neutering- I checked them in this morning for the vet to ring me 20 minutes later to say the girl is actually a boy! Easily mistaken apparently as the testicles were inverted. Now I’m worried about them bonding after. They are from the same litter and have always been together up until Monday when they started fighting, and so I separated them.
In my research before I got them,everything I read said a male and female works better for bonding.
I have one large hutch that they share and a 12ft run which attaches and they share. Do you think I am going to need double everything? Has anyone else had successful brothers bonding after neutering. I’m grateful for any advice please with bonding two boys. Thankyou

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Give them 6 weeks after neuter before trying to bond. We had a pair of females and a pair of males come to us as bonded, so it's possible. We also have had some--females--that would fight with a rock so it was useless to try and bond and had to wear gloves or get bitten.

 

[zuppa]

Help needed please! So after a pre assessment vet check last week for my bunnies spaying and neutering- I checked them in this morning for the vet to ring me 20 minutes later to say the girl is actually a boy! Easily mistaken apparently as the testicles were inverted. Now I’m worried about them bonding after. They are from the same litter and have always been together up until Monday when they started fighting, and so I separated them.
In my research before I got them,everything I read said a male and female works better for bonding.
I have one large hutch that they share and a 12ft run which attaches and they share. Do you think I am going to need double everything? Has anyone else had successful brothers bonding after neutering. I’m grateful for any advice please with bonding two boys. Thankyou

Hi, what age are they? I guess about 4 months now.

I've very successfully bonded neutered brothers absolutely no problems, I've heard as well that boy and girl are better for bonding, but I would say it's more about personalities and if you are taking time not trying to bond immediately after neuter.

As above said, you will have to wait after neutering 6-8 weeks, it depends on your buns really, I had boys who needed more time, one needed 3 months. After his extra time he was perfectly bondable.

It would help us to understand your setup better if you could post some pics of it. If your hutch is really large you could possibly just divide it in the middle and same with the run. For me, I am not playing with pre-bonding anymore, I know you want them to see each other but I find that they calm down much much faster when completely separated and can't see or smell each other. I spray my hands and clothes with 5% vinegar between holding them because I don't want to stress them. Because hormonal male rabbit when he smells another male rabbit on my hands and clothes he would pee on me or will bite me, because I smell like his competitor.

In your case, if you separate them completely now and for 8 weeks after neutering, after that you will create new foreign for both territory, and do bonding sessions, starting from a short one and you will see if they still remember each other and their fights. Maybe they will need more time separately.

They will have over 2 months without each other and most likely will completely forget each other, that is great, they will start as with completely new partner.

I know most people don't want to separate siblings because they were so lovely 'bonded' when they were babies, but the truth is, they were not bonded, babies just get along but when become hormonal they will fight. So I am against keeping them close to each other for these 2 and a bit months because your goal is to bond them for life and have easy bonding, but when they are close and communicate through the bars, they may build kind of relationship which won't be helpful when bonding, because now and 2 months after neutering they will still be hormonal and will see each other as a competitor. They will poo and pee along their divider to protect their territory, they will spray urine on their competitor and on all around, on you to mark their territory and mark as their property, they will try getting each other through the bars etc. Maybe there can be exceptions if your rabbits are super laid back, but most male rabbits in their teens would do that, it is just natural for them to try establish their dominance at any cost.

Of course as I said it depends on personalities, maybe in some cases staying close would work, but I prefer waiting 2 months and giving them clean start as neutered and calm partners.

There's lots of videos on bonding, but i think you should just separate them now and stay focused on post neuter care for a few next weeks, then you come back and ask here we will link you to bonding. just no rush let them calm down and you will have better results with bonding. No rush, 2 months is not a big deal really.

 

[zuppa]

It happens very often when you want to do it quickly they are not ready yet and start fighting, then you will have to separate again and give them more time to forget each other, with every fight your chances to bond them are getting slimmer.
I could link you to a few threads when we suggested waiting two months after neuter but people had no time and decided that one month is enough, then they had a major fight with one of the boys lost a piece of his ear and they had to wait longer as a result.

 

[Laurat]

Hi, what age are they? I guess about 4 months now.

I've very successfully bonded neutered brothers absolutely no problems, I've heard as well that boy and girl are better for bonding, but I would say it's more about personalities and if you are taking time not trying to bond immediately after neuter.

As above said, you will have to wait after neutering 6-8 weeks, it depends on your buns really, I had boys who needed more time, one needed 3 months. After his extra time he was perfectly bondable.

It would help us to understand your setup better if you could post some pics of it. If your hutch is really large you could possibly just divide it in the middle and same with the run. For me, I am not playing with pre-bonding anymore, I know you want them to see each other but I find that they calm down much much faster when completely separated and can't see or smell each other. I spray my hands and clothes with 5% vinegar between holding them because I don't want to stress them. Because hormonal male rabbit when he smells another male rabbit on my hands and clothes he would pee on me or will bite me, because I smell like his competitor.

In your case, if you separate them completely now and for 8 weeks after neutering, after that you will create new foreign for both territory, and do bonding sessions, starting from a short one and you will see if they still remember each other and their fights. Maybe they will need more time separately.

They will have over 2 months without each other and most likely will completely forget each other, that is great, they will start as with completely new partner.

I know most people don't want to separate siblings because they were so lovely 'bonded' when they were babies, but the truth is, they were not bonded, babies just get along but when become hormonal they will fight. So I am against keeping them close to each other for these 2 and a bit months because your goal is to bond them for life and have easy bonding, but when they are close and communicate through the bars, they may build kind of relationship which won't be helpful when bonding, because now and 2 months after neutering they will still be hormonal and will see each other as a competitor. They will poo and pee along their divider to protect their territory, they will spray urine on their competitor and on all around, on you to mark their territory and mark as their property, they will try getting each other through the bars etc. Maybe there can be exceptions if your rabbits are super laid back, but most male rabbits in their teens would do that, it is just natural for them to try establish their dominance at any cost.

Of course as I said it depends on personalities, maybe in some cases staying close would work, but I prefer waiting 2 months and giving them clean start as neutered and calm partners.

There's lots of videos on bonding, but i think you should just separate them now and stay focused on post neuter care for a few next weeks, then you come back and ask here we will link you to bonding. just no rush let them calm down and you will have better results with bonding. No rush, 2 months is not a big deal really.

Thankyou so much that is really helpful. They have a 6ft two storey hutch and at the minute I have separated it off with ply wood. So one is living on the top and the other on the bottom. they are in the same hutch but cannot see each other. This is where they will live after they are bonded and have free roam of it. Do you think they will be territorial with the levels? It will cost a lot to buy two new separate hutches.

 

[zuppa]

No i think they will be fine having just one level and they can't see each other. 6 ft sounds like good size hutch. Just don't give them much freedom in the next two months they have enough room for now especially after surgery you don't want them to exercise a lot, but why I say restrict their space because when bonding you will need to use some unknown for both territory so they don't go territorial again. Well boys are easier with that, girls more territorial usually, but still, you will need new neutral territory for bonding, and after bonding you will have to clean and stray hutch with vinegar to remove smells and rearrange a bit so they are okay with the other bun coming into his level and using his toilet, so there's plenty of ideas to rearrange it.
Maybe don't use run for now so you can use it for bonding later.

 

[Laurat]

No i think they will be fine having just one level and they can't see each other. 6 ft sounds like good size hutch. Just don't give them much freedom in the next two months they have enough room for now especially after surgery you don't want them to exercise a lot, but why I say restrict their space because when bonding you will need to use some unknown for both territory so they don't go territorial again. Well boys are easier with that, girls more territorial usually, but still, you will need new neutral territory for bonding, and after bonding you will have to clean and stray hutch with vinegar to remove smells and rearrange a bit so they are okay with the other bun coming into his level and using his toilet, so there's plenty of ideas to rearrange it.
Maybe don't use run for now so you can use it for bonding later.

Thankyou, that’s all really helpful. Do you think they will be ok without a run? I feel mean keeping them in their hutch just for a week after surgery even. I can’t have them indoors as my son is allergic (we didn’t know before we got them). But I love them and so am making them as happy as possible outside

 

[zuppa]

Thankyou, that’s all really helpful. Do you think they will be ok without a run? I feel mean keeping them in their hutch just for a week after surgery even. I can’t have them indoors as my son is allergic (we didn’t know before we got them). But I love them and so am making them as happy as possible outside

Well first couple weeks after neutering you will need to limit their space anyway so they can't exercise much until healed a bit, it can take up to one month if there's any complications. so i would say they will be fine, 6 ft hutch is really good size for one little rabbit. I would personally keep them in their hutches and would use that time for toilet training etc. Then it will be easier to bond them when they still not too fussy and only know their own hutch run will be totally new place for them both. But it is hard to say without actually seeing your setup, also you know your rabbits better and will see how it goes. Please keep us updated and with pics, we love pics

 

[TreasuredFriend]

The gender fairy visits often. Lagomorphs can easily fool their humans at a young age!

-- All the best for keeping your fur-babies separated and preventing an accidental pregnancy.

If there's a way to plan ahead and save money for another hutch, you may want to consider that.
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I hear you Zuppa wrt unbonded/unaltered rabbits fighting and injuries occur, pieces of their flesh or body parts are bitten off.

We have all sp/eutered buns in our sanctuary care and we still monitor for personalities who want to be dominant, and want nothing to do with others!

 

[Laurat]

Well first couple weeks after neutering you will need to limit their space anyway so they can't exercise much until healed a bit, it can take up to one month if there's any complications. so i would say they will be fine, 6 ft hutch is really good size for one little rabbit. I would personally keep them in their hutches and would use that time for toilet training etc. Then it will be easier to bond them when they still not too fussy and only know their own hutch run will be totally new place for them both. But it is hard to say without actually seeing your setup, also you know your rabbits better and will see how it goes. Please keep us updated and with pics, we love pics

This is their home. They have a covered run that is attached and door open from 6:30am to 10pm which leads into an uncovered run (which I cover if we go inside). Hutch is locked up at nighttime. So the runs are off for now whilst they recover.